Scrolling virtual music keyboard

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for scrolling a virtual keyboard on a touch screen device including a display. A first aspect allows detecting a user contact swipe motion in a predetermined direction along said keyboard, scrolling said keyboard across said display in accordance with said motion, and stopping said scrolling upon termination of user contact swipe motion. A second aspect allows scrolling of a virtual keyboard to snap to an intelligent position based on a song key or relative minor of the song key. A third aspect allows a note to be held when a user&#39;s finger remains in contact with the display even though the finger is no longer in contact with a key linked to the note on the keyboard as a result of scrolling. A fourth aspect displays a second musical instrument keyboard adjacent to a first musical instrument keyboard, wherein said second musical instrument keyboard is linked to said first musical instrument keyboard such that scrolling of one keyboard causes automatic scrolling of the other keyboard.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/893,971 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,516,386), entitled“Scrolling Virtual Music Keyboard,” filed on Sep. 29, 2010, the entirecontent of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The following relates to scrolling a virtual keyboard on a touch screendevice.

BACKGROUND

A traditional piano contains 7 octaves plus a minor third and 88 keys. Ahandheld wireless electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen inputcan run a virtual keyboard program that allows a user to play and recordmusic. However, due to size dimensions of current devices only afraction of a full 88-key keyboard is displayed on the touch-sensitivescreen at a time. For example, an electronic device with atouch-sensitive screen input can display only one or two octaves of amusical keyboard at a time and still display keys that are large enoughfor ordinary users to play. However, users may wish to access other keysand octaves of a full 88-key keyboard for more options in creatingsounds and music.

Current virtual keyboards on a handheld electronic device with atouch-sensitive screen input can allow a user to change the octavesdisplayed on the touch-sensitive screen by accessing a “+” or “−”button. For example, by pressing a “+” button, the user can cause thetouch-sensitive display to show higher octaves, one octave shift higherfor each press. Similarly, by pressing a “−” button, the user can causethe touch-sensitive display to show lower octaves, one octave shiftlower for each press.

However, this implementation has limitations in that changes can only bemade in octave increments. Also, the user must cease playing thekeyboard, adjust the visible octaves using the “+/−” button, and thenresume playing.

Therefore users can benefit from a method and system for scrolling avirtual keyboard on a touch screen device that allows a user to scrollthe virtual keyboard to access other keys of the virtual keyboard, whileplaying the virtual keyboard. Users can further benefit from a methodand system for scrolling a virtual keyboard on a touch screen devicethat scrolls to intelligent positions based on a key of a project, andthat allows a user to hold a note that is no longer in contact with auser's finger due to scrolling.

SUMMARY

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readablestorage media for scrolling a virtual keyboard on a touch screen device.A first aspect musical instrument keyboard interface for atouch-sensitive electronic display is disclosed. The interface includesa module for displaying a first musical instrument keyboard on thedisplay, wherein the keyboard contains more keys than are simultaneouslyvisible on the display. The first interface also includes a module fordetecting a user contact swipe motion in a predetermined direction alongthe keyboard, for scrolling the keyboard across the display inaccordance with the motion, and for stopping the scrolling upontermination of user contact swipe motion.

A second aspect allows scrolling of a virtual keyboard to snap to anintelligent position based on a song key or relative minor of the songkey. A third aspect allows a note to be held when a user's fingerremains in contact with the display even though the finger is no longerin contact with a key linked to the note on the keyboard as a result ofscrolling. A fourth aspect displays a second musical instrument keyboardadjacent to a first musical instrument keyboard, wherein the secondmusical instrument keyboard is linked to the first musical instrumentkeyboard such that scrolling of one keyboard causes automatic scrollingof the other keyboard. Many other aspects and examples will becomeapparent from the following disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the exemplaryembodiments, reference is now made to the appended drawings. Thesedrawings should not be construed as limiting, but are intended to beexemplary only.

FIG. 1 illustrates hardware components associated with a systemembodiment;

FIG. 2A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position;

FIG. 2B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardis in a second position after scrolling the keyboard;

FIG. 3A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position;

FIG. 3B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which a note isheld when a user's finger remains in contact with the display and thefinger is no longer in contact with a key linked to the note on thekeyboard as a result of scrolling;

FIG. 4A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position;

FIG. 4B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which a note isheld when a user's finger remains in contact with the display and thefinger is no longer in contact with a key linked to the note on thekeyboard as a result of scrolling;

FIG. 5A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position;

FIG. 5B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardis in a second position after scrolling the keyboard;

FIG. 5C illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardis in a third position after scrolling the keyboard, in which thekeyboard is aligned based on an input musical key;

FIG. 6A illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which a keyboardis in a first position;

FIG. 6B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardis in a second position after scrolling the keyboard;

FIG. 6C illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardis in a third position after scrolling the keyboard, in which thekeyboard is aligned based on the relative minor of an input musical key;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for detecting a user contact swipe motion in apredetermined direction, scrolling a virtual keyboard, and for stoppingthe scrolling upon termination of user contact swipe motion;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for scrolling of a virtual keyboard to snap to anintelligent position based on a song key or relative minor of the songkey;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for playing a held note; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for displaying a first and second virtualkeyboard on a touch screen device, wherein the first and second virtualkeyboards are linked.

FIG. 11 illustrates a first and second musical keyboard interface on asingle device; and

FIG. 12 illustrates another embodiment of a first and second musicalkeyboard interface on a single device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The method, system, and computer-readable medium for scrolling akeyboard on a touch screen device can be implemented on a computer. Thecomputer can be a data-processing system suitable for storing and/orexecuting program code. The computer can include at least one processorthat is coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through asystem bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed duringactual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memoriesthat provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order toreduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storageduring execution. Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limitedto keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to thesystem either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Networkadapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processingsystem to become coupled to other data-processing systems or remoteprinters or storage devices through intervening private or publicnetworks. Modems, cable modems, and Ethernet cards are just a few of thecurrently available types of network adapters. In one or moreembodiments, the computer can be a desktop computer, laptop computer, ordedicated device.

FIG. 1 illustrates the basic hardware components associated with thesystem embodiment of the disclosed technology. As shown in FIG. 1, anexemplary system includes a general-purpose computing device 100,including a processor, or processing unit (CPU) 120 and a system bus 110that couples various system components including the system memory suchas read only memory (ROM) 140 and random access memory (RAM) 150 to theprocessing unit 120. Other system memory 130 may be available for use aswell. It will be appreciated that the invention may operate on acomputing device with more than one CPU 120 or on a group or cluster ofcomputing devices networked together to provide greater processingcapability. The system bus 110 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Abasic input/output (BIOS) stored in ROM 140 or the like, may provide thebasic routine that helps to transfer information between elements withinthe computing device 100, such as during start-up. The computing device100 further includes storage devices such as a hard disk drive 160, amagnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. Thestorage device 160 is connected to the system bus 110 by a driveinterface. The drives and the associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the computing device 100. The basiccomponents are known to those of skill in the art and appropriatevariations are contemplated depending on the type of device, such aswhether the device is a small, handheld computing device, a desktopcomputer, or a computer server.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs the harddisk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that othertypes of computer-readable media which can store data that areaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories(RAMs), read only memory (ROM), a cable or wireless signal containing abit stream and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an inputdevice 190 represents any number of input mechanisms such as atouch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, accelerometer,keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. The device output170 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known tothose of skill in the art, such as a display or speakers. In someinstances, multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple types ofinput to communicate with the computing device 100. The communicationsinterface 180 generally governs and manages the user input and systemoutput. There is no restriction on the disclosed technology operating onany particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic featureshere may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmwarearrangements as they are developed.

For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system embodiment ispresented as comprising individual functional blocks (includingfunctional blocks labeled as a “processor”). The functions these blocksrepresent may be provided through the use of either shared or dedicatedhardware, including but not limited to hardware capable of executingsoftware. For example the functions of one or more processors shown inFIG. 1 may be provided by a single shared processor or multipleprocessors. (Use of the term “processor” should not be construed torefer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software.)Illustrative embodiments may comprise microprocessor and/or digitalsignal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storingsoftware performing the operations discussed below, and random accessmemory (RAM) for storing results. Very large scale integration (VLSI)hardware embodiments, as well as custom VLSI circuitry in combinationwith a general purpose DSP circuit, may also be provided.

The technology can take the form of an entirely hardware-basedembodiment, an entirely software-based embodiment, or an embodimentcontaining both hardware and software elements. In one embodiment, thedisclosed technology can be implemented in software, which includes butmay not be limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.Furthermore, the disclosed technology can take the form of a computerprogram product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium providing program code for use by or in connection with acomputer or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of thisdescription, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be anyapparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transportthe program for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (orapparatus or device) or a propagation medium (though propagation mediumsin and of themselves as signal carriers may not be included in thedefinition of physical computer-readable medium). Examples of a physicalcomputer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory,magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and an opticaldisk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disk read/write (CD-R/W), and DVD. Bothprocessors and program code for implementing each as aspects of thetechnology can be centralized and/or distributed as known to thoseskilled in the art.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is an industry-standardprotocol that enables electronic musical instruments, such as keyboardcontrollers, computers, and other electronic equipment, to communicate,control, and synchronize with each other. MIDI does not transmit anaudio signal or media, but rather transmits “event messages” such as thepitch and intensity of musical notes to play, control signals forparameters such as volume, vibrato and panning, cues, and clock signalsto set the tempo. As an electronic protocol, MIDI is notable for itswidespread adoption throughout the industry.

FIG. 2A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position. FIG. 2A includes a wireless touch screen device202. Wireless touch screen device 202 includes a touch sensitive display204. Display 204 is displaying a musical instrument keyboard interface206. Musical instrument keyboard interface 206 displays two octaves fromC3 to B4 as shown. The instrument keyboard interface 206 contains morekeys than are simultaneously visible on the display 204.

In FIG. 2A, a user has input with a finger on the display 204 over theC3 note on the musical instrument keyboard interface 206. This causes aprocessor to output a note corresponding to C3 on the musical instrumentkeyboard interface 206 to an audio output, such as speakers orheadphones.

FIG. 2B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardinterface 206 is in a second position after scrolling. In FIG. 2B, amodule has detected a user contact swipe motion in a predetermineddirection, such as left or right, along the keyboard and scrolled thekeyboard across the display in accordance with the motion, and stoppedthe scrolling upon termination of the user contact swipe motion. Bycausing the scrolling of the musical keyboard interface to the right asshown in FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B, the user is able to access more notes onthe musical keyboard interface. More specifically, the user is now ableto access notes F2 to B2. Advantageously, the user is able to accessthese notes while still playing note C3.

FIG. 3A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position. FIG. 3A includes a wireless touch screen device302. Wireless touch screen device 302, includes a touch sensitivedisplay 304. Display 304 is displaying a musical instrument keyboardinterface 306. Musical instrument keyboard interface 306 displays twooctaves from C3 to B4 as shown. The instrument keyboard interface 306contains more keys than are simultaneously visible on the display 304.

In FIG. 3A, a user has input with a finger on the display 304 over a C4note on the musical instrument keyboard interface 306. The user has alsoinput with a second finger on the display 304 over a G3 note on themusical instrument keyboard interface 306. This causes a processor tooutput a first note corresponding to C4 and a second note correspondingto G3 on the musical instrument keyboard interface 306 to an audiooutput, such as speakers or headphones.

FIG. 3B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which a note isheld when a user's finger remains in contact with the display and thefinger is no longer in contact with a key linked to the note on thekeyboard as a result of scrolling.

In FIG. 3B, a module has detected a user contact swipe motion withrespect to the first note in a predetermined direction, such as left orright, along the keyboard and scrolled the keyboard across the displayin accordance with the motion, and stopped the scrolling upontermination of the user contact swipe motion. In FIG. 3B, the user hasheld the second finger on the display 304 on the musical instrumentkeyboard interface 306 at its original position. The second note G3 willcontinue to be played and output while, as a result of scrolling, it isno longer in contact with the user's second finger. In this embodimentthe second note G3 will continue to play as long as the user's secondfinger is in contact with its original position on display 304.

By causing the scrolling of the musical keyboard interface to the rightas shown in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B, the user is able to access more notes onthe musical keyboard interface, while still playing second note G3 thatis no longer in contact with the second finger. More specifically, theuser is now able to access notes F2 to B2. Advantageously, the user isable to access these notes while still playing notes C4 and G3.

FIG. 4A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position. FIG. 4A includes a wireless touch screen device402. Wireless touch screen device 402, includes a touch sensitivedisplay 404. Display 404 is displaying a musical instrument keyboardinterface 406. Musical instrument keyboard interface 406 displays twooctaves from F2 to B4 as shown. The instrument keyboard interface 406contains more keys than are simultaneously visible on the display 404.

In FIG. 4A, a user has input with a first finger on the display 304 overa C3 note on the musical instrument keyboard interface 306. The user hasalso input with a second finger on the display 304 over a G3 note on themusical instrument keyboard interface 306. This causes a processor tooutput a first note corresponding to C3 and a second note correspondingto G3 on the musical instrument keyboard interface 406 to an audiooutput, such as speakers or headphones.

FIG. 4B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which a note isheld when a user's finger remains in contact with the display and thefinger is no longer in contact with a key linked to the note on thekeyboard as a result of scrolling.

In FIG. 4B, a module has detected a user contact swipe motion withrespect to the first note in a predetermined direction, such as left orright, along the keyboard and scrolled the keyboard across the displayin accordance with the motion, and stopped the scrolling upontermination of the user contact swipe motion. In FIG. 4B, the user hasheld the second finger on the display 404 on the musical instrumentkeyboard interface 406 at its original position. The second note G3 willcontinue to be played and output while, as a result of scrolling, it isno longer in contact with the user's second finger. In this embodimentthe second note G3 will continue to play as long as the user's secondfinger is in contact with its original position on display 404.

By causing the scrolling of the musical keyboard interface to the leftas shown in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B, the user is able to access more notes onthe musical keyboard interface, while still playing second note G3 thatis no longer in contact with the second finger. More specifically, theuser is now able to access notes F4 to B4. Advantageously, the user isable to access these notes while still playing notes C3 and G3.

FIG. 5A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position. FIG. 5A includes a wireless touch screen device502. Wireless touch screen device 502, includes a touch sensitivedisplay 504. Display 504 is displaying a musical instrument keyboardinterface 506. Musical instrument keyboard interface 506 displays twooctaves from F2 to E4 as shown. The instrument keyboard interface 506contains more keys than are simultaneously visible on the display 504.

In FIG. 5A, a user has input with a finger on the display 504 over a C3note on the musical instrument keyboard interface 506. This causes aprocessor to output a note corresponding to C3 on the musical instrumentkeyboard interface 506 to an audio output, such as speakers orheadphones.

FIG. 5B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardinterface 506 is in a second position after scrolling. In FIG. 5B, amodule has detected a user contact swipe motion in a predetermineddirection, such as left or right, along the keyboard and scrolled thekeyboard across the display in accordance with the motion, and stoppedthe scrolling upon termination of the user contact swipe motion. Bycausing the scrolling of the musical keyboard interface to the right asshown in FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B, the user is able to access more notes onthe musical keyboard interface. More specifically, the user is now ableto access notes F4 to A#4. Advantageously, the user is able to accessthese notes while still playing note C3.

FIG. 5C illustrates the musical keyboard interface 506 in which thekeyboard is in a third position after scrolling the keyboard.Furthermore, the keyboard is aligned based on an input musical key. InFIG. 5C, a module for receiving user input as to a musical key hasreceived a user input that the musical key is C for this arrangement.Also, in FIG. 5C, a module has aligned the keyboard 506 on the display504 such that an end key visible on an end of the keyboard 506 isrelated to the musical key input after stopping the scrolling. In thisexample, the module aligned the keyboard 506 on display 504 such thatthe C3 is in the left most position for keyboard 506. In this example,the module aligned the keyboard 506 in this manner because the C3 keywas a predetermined distance from an edge of the display 504 upontermination of user contact swipe motion. This alignment allows akeyboard key corresponding to a key of a song input by a user to “snapto” the left most position of keyboard 506 after a user swipe if thekeyboard key corresponding to the key of the song is within apredetermined distance from the left most position of keyboard 506.

FIG. 6A illustrates a musical keyboard interface in which a keyboard isin a first position. FIG. 6A includes a wireless touch screen device602. Wireless touch screen device 602, includes a touch sensitivedisplay 604. Display 604 is displaying a musical instrument keyboardinterface 606. Musical instrument keyboard interface 606 displays twooctaves from C3 to B4 as shown. The instrument keyboard interface 606contains more keys than are simultaneously visible on the display 604.

In FIG. 6A, a user has input with a finger on the display 604 over a F3note on the musical instrument keyboard interface 606. This causes aprocessor to output a note corresponding to F3 on the musical instrumentkeyboard interface 606 to an audio output, such as speakers orheadphones.

FIG. 6B illustrates the musical keyboard interface in which the keyboardinterface 606 is in a second position after scrolling. In FIG. 6B, amodule has detected a user contact swipe motion in a predetermineddirection, such as left or right, along the keyboard and scrolled thekeyboard across the display in accordance with the motion, and stoppedthe scrolling upon termination of the user contact swipe motion. Bycausing the scrolling of the musical keyboard interface to the left asshown in FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B, the user is able to access more notes onthe musical keyboard interface. More specifically, the user is now ableto access notes C4 to A#4. Advantageously, the user is able to accessthese notes while still playing note F3.

FIG. 6C illustrates the musical keyboard interface 606 in which thekeyboard is in a third position after scrolling the keyboard.Furthermore, the keyboard is aligned based on a relative minor of aninput musical key. In FIG. 6C, a module for receiving user input as to amusical key has received a user input that the musical key is C for thisarrangement. The minor key of C is A. Also, in FIG. 6C, a module hasaligned the keyboard 606 on the display 604 such that an end key visibleon an end of the keyboard 606 is related to the relative minor ofmusical key input after stopping the scrolling. In this example, themodule aligned the keyboard 606 on display 604 such that the A2 is inthe left most position for keyboard 606. In this example, the modulealigned the keyboard 606 in this manner because the A2 key was apredetermined distance from an edge of the display 604 upon terminationof user contact swipe motion. This alignment allows a keyboard keycorresponding to a relative minor of a key of a song input by a user to“snap to” the left most position of keyboard 606 after a user swipe ifthe keyboard key corresponding to the key of the song is within apredetermined distance from the left most position of keyboard 606.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for detecting a user contact swipe motion in apredetermined direction, scrolling a virtual keyboard, and stopping thescrolling upon termination of user contact swipe motion. As shown inFIG. 7, block 702 includes displaying a first musical instrumentkeyboard on the display, wherein the keyboard contains more keys thanare simultaneously visible on the display. Block 704 includes detectinga user contact swipe motion in a predetermined direction along thekeyboard, scrolling the keyboard across the display in accordance withthe motion, and stopping the scrolling upon termination of user contactswipe motion.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for scrolling of a virtual keyboard to snap to anintelligent position based on a song key or relative minor of the songkey. Block 802 includes a displaying a first musical instrument keyboardon the display, wherein the keyboard contains more keys than aresimultaneously visible on the display. Block 804 includes receiving userinput as to a musical key. Block 806 includes detecting a user contactswipe motion in a predetermined direction along the keyboard, scrollingthe keyboard across the display in accordance with the motion, andstopping the scrolling upon termination of user contact swipe motion.Block 808 includes aligning the keyboard on the display such that an endkey visible on an end of the keyboard is related to the musical keyinput after stopping of the scrolling.

In one example, the aligning the keyboard includes aligning the end keybased on a predetermined distance of the end key from an edge of thedisplay upon termination of user contact swipe motion.

In one example, the predetermined distance is from an edge of thedisplay to a visible portion of the keyboard. In another example, thepredetermined distance is from an edge of the display to a non-visibleportion of the keyboard.

In one example, the end key is a base note of the musical key. Inanother example, the end key is a base note of the relative minor of themusical key.

Another example includes a hold note zone on the display to which a usermay drag a first note being played on the keyboard, such that the firstnote continues to be played after it is no longer visible on thekeyboard as a result of scrolling. This example further includes anembodiment including allowing a second note to be played by contacting avisible key on the keyboard while the first note continues to be played.

Another example includes displaying a second musical instrument keyboardadjacent to the first musical instrument keyboard, wherein the secondmusical instrument keyboard is linked to the first musical instrumentkeyboard such that scrolling of one keyboard causes automatic scrollingof the other keyboard.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for playing a held note when a user's fingerremains in contact with the display and the finger is no longer incontact with a key linked to the note on the keyboard as a result ofscrolling. Block 902 includes displaying a first musical instrumentkeyboard on the display, wherein the keyboard contains more keys thanare simultaneously visible on the display. Block 904 includes detectinga user contact swipe motion in a predetermined direction along thekeyboard, and scrolling the keyboard across the display in accordancewith the motion, and stopping the scrolling upon termination of usercontact swipe motion. Block 906 includes detecting a held note on thedisplay whereby, when a first note and a second note are being playedsimultaneously on the keyboard, a user initiates a contact swipe motionwith respect to the first note being played on the keyboard while thesecond note continues to be held, such that the second note continues tobe played while, as a result of scrolling, it is no longer in contactwith a user's finger that remains in contact with the touch-sensitivedisplay at the original position of the second note. An example includesplaying a third note in response to a user contacting a visible key onsaid keyboard while said second note continues to be played.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for displaying a first and second virtualkeyboard on a touch screen device, wherein the first and second virtualkeyboards are linked.

Block 1002 includes displaying a first musical instrument keyboard onthe display, wherein the keyboard contains more keys than aresimultaneously visible on the display. Block 1004 includes detecting auser contact swipe motion in a predetermined direction along thekeyboard, and scrolling the keyboard across the display in accordancewith the motion, and stopping the scrolling upon termination of usercontact swipe motion. Block 1006 includes displaying a second musicalinstrument keyboard adjacent to the first musical instrument keyboard,wherein the second musical instrument keyboard is linked to the firstmusical instrument keyboard such that scrolling of one keyboard causesautomatic scrolling of the other keyboard.

FIG. 11 illustrates a first and second musical keyboard interface on asingle device. FIG. 11 includes a wireless touch screen device 1102.Wireless touch screen device 1102 includes a touch sensitive display1104. Display 1104 is displaying a first musical instrument keyboardinterface 1106 and a second musical instrument keyboard interface 1108.The first instrument keyboard interface 1106 and second musicalinstrument keyboard interface 1108 contain more keys than aresimultaneously visible on the display 1104.

In one embodiment, the first instrument keyboard interface 1106 islinked to the second musical instrument keyboard interface 1108, suchthat scrolling of the first interface 1106 by a user causes automaticscrolling of the second interface 1108. In another example, scrolling ofthe second interface by the user 1108 causes automatic scrolling offirst interface 1106. In one example, the automatic scrolling is in thesame direction, such as left or right, of the scrolling of the otherinterface. In another example, the automatic scrolling is the oppositedirection, of the scrolling of the other interface.

In another embodiment, the first instrument keyboard interface 1106 isnot linked to the second musical instrument keyboard interface 1108.

Displaying multiple keyboard interfaces capable of scrollingadvantageously allows a user to use an upper keyboard interface for adesired sound such as a lead synthesizer sound and a lower keyboardinterface for a desired sound such as a bass sound. Using a traditionalkeyboard, a user can split an 88-key keyboard such that, for the lower44 keys play a bass instrument and the upper 44 keys play a leadinstrument. However, displaying multiple keyboard interfaces capable ofscrolling advantageously allow a user to access all 88 keys of the upperkeyboard lead synthesizer and 88 keys of the lower keyboard basssynthesizer.

FIG. 12 illustrates a first and second musical keyboard interface on asingle device in what can be referred to as a “duel” mode. FIG. 12includes a wireless touch screen device 1202. Wireless touch screendevice 1202 includes a touch sensitive display 1204. Display 1204 isdisplaying a first musical instrument keyboard interface 1206 and asecond musical instrument keyboard interface 1208. The first instrumentkeyboard interface 1206 and second musical instrument keyboard interface1208 contain more keys than are simultaneously visible on the display1204.

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, display 1204 presents firstmusical instrument keyboard interface 1206 and a second musicalinstrument keyboard interface 1208 in such a way that two users can eachplay one of the keyboard interfaces to simulate a “piano duel” setup.Those of skill in the art will recognize other configurations of twomusical instrument keyboard interfaces on a single display.

Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may also includetangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable storage media forcarrying or having computer executable instructions or data structuresstored thereon. Such non-transitory computer readable storage media canbe any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose orspecial purpose computer, including the functional design of any specialpurpose processor as discussed above. By way of example, and notlimitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storageor other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be usedto carry or store desired program code means in the form of computerexecutable instructions, data structures, or processor chip design. Wheninformation is transferred or provided over a network or anothercommunications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or combinationthereof) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as acomputer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed acomputer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of the computer-readable media.

Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function orgroup of functions. Computer-executable instructions also includeprogram modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or networkenvironments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in thedesign of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Computer executableinstructions, associated data structures, and program modules representexamples of the program code means for executing steps of the methodsdisclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executableinstructions or associated data structures represents examples ofcorresponding acts for implementing the functions described in suchsteps.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of thedisclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with manytypes of computer system configurations, including personal computers,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, and the like. Embodiments may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by localand remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwiredlinks, wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

The above disclosure provides examples within the scope of claims,appended hereto or later added in accordance with applicable law.However, these examples are not limiting as to how any disclosedembodiments may be implemented, as those of ordinary skill can applythese disclosures to particular situations in a variety of ways.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; a touch-sensitive surface; and a computer-readable mediumincluding instructions which, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, causes the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: displaying a first musical instrument keyboard on thesurface, wherein the keyboard contains more keys than are simultaneouslyvisible on the surface; detecting a first user input and a second userinput, the first user input being a touch input at a location on thesurface corresponding to a key of the keyboard, the second user inputbeing a contact swipe motion in a direction of ascending or descendingpitch along a length of the keyboard; scrolling the keyboard across thesurface in accordance with the direction of the contact swipe motion,the scrolling causing the key to move away from the location of thefirst user input; and continuing playing a musical note associated withthe key during the scrolling while the first user input continuestouching the location, even after the key moves away from the location.2. The system as claimed in claim 1, the operations further comprising:displaying a second musical instrument keyboard adjacent to the firstmusical instrument keyboard, wherein the musical instrument keyboardsare linked to each other such that scrolling of one keyboard causesautomatic scrolling of the other keyboard.
 3. The system as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the first musical instrument keyboard corresponds to afirst sound type, and the second musical instrument keyboard correspondsto a second sound type that is different from the first sound type. 4.The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first musical instrumentkeyboard corresponds to a lead synthesizer sound, and the first musicalinstrument keyboard corresponds to a bass synthesizer sound.
 5. Thesystem as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first musical instrumentkeyboard and the first musical instrument keyboard are configured in apiano duel setup.
 6. A method implemented on a computer system,comprising: displaying a first musical instrument keyboard on atouch-sensitive surface, wherein the keyboard contains more keys thanare simultaneously visible on the touch-sensitive surface; detecting afirst user input and a second user input, the first user input being atouch input at a location on the surface corresponding to a key of thekeyboard, the second user input being a contact swipe motion in adirection of ascending or descending pitch along a length of thekeyboard; scrolling the keyboard across the surface according to thedirection the contact swipe motion, the scrolling causing the key tomove away from the location of the first user input; and continuingplaying a musical note associated with the key during the scrollingwhile the first user input continues touching the location, even afterthe key moves away from the location.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: displaying a second musical instrument keyboard adjacent tothe first musical instrument keyboard, wherein the musical instrumentkeyboards are linked to each other such that scrolling of one keyboardcauses automatic scrolling of the other keyboard.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein the first musical instrument keyboard corresponds to a firstsound type, and the second musical instrument keyboard corresponds to asecond sound type that is different from the first sound type.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the first musical instrument keyboardcorresponds to a lead synthesizer sound, and the first musicalinstrument keyboard corresponds to a bass synthesizer sound.
 10. Acomputer program product comprising a plurality of computer executableinstructions tangibly embodied in a physical media, said instructionscausing a computer to perform operations comprising: displaying amusical instrument keyboard on a touch-sensitive surface, wherein saidkeyboard contains more keys than are simultaneously visible on thetouch-sensitive surface; detecting a first user input and a second userinput, the first user input being a touch input at a location on thesurface corresponding to a key of the keyboard, the second user inputbeing a contact swipe motion in a direction of ascending or descendingpitch along a length of the keyboard; scrolling the keyboard across thesurface in accordance with the direction of the contact swipe motion,the scrolling causing the key to move away from the location of thefirst user input; and continuing playing a musical note associated withthe key during the scrolling while the first user input continuestouching the location, even after the key moves away from the location.11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the musicalkeyboard is an 88-key piano keyboard.